A cutlery basket for accommodating cutlery items in a horizontal position is known from EP 0 186 157 B1. The dishrack described there is embodied as a drawer and offers the possibility of accommodating conventional items of cutlery, such as knives, spoons, forks etc. and storing them in a position that is favorable for the effectiveness of the wash program. In order to optimize the use of the limited space in the washing compartment, the height of the cutlery drawer is chosen such that spoons having a large bowl of a standard set of cutlery can be stored therein without difficulty. Cutlery items having greater dimensions, such as e.g. serving cutlery, ladles etc., cannot be placed in the cutlery drawer because the dimensions of the cutlery items prevent the cutlery drawer from being inserted into the dishwasher. Said cutlery items must either be washed by hand or must be placed into the dishracks in such a way as to ensure that the washing liquid can also reliably drain away.
A generic cutlery basket is known from WO 03/055375 A1. In its base section said cutlery basket has at least one swivel joint which is arranged and embodied in such a way that at least one subsection of the base section can be swiveled relative to a remaining section of the base section. With said cutlery basket, at least two states can be distinguished. When standard cutlery items are used, these can be placed into the cutlery basket, with both the lowerable subsection and the remaining section of the base section lying on a plane, i.e. form an angle of 180° with one another. In this state the cutlery basket offers space for the cutlery items of a standard cutlery set as well as optimal use of the dishrack located directly thereunder. In a second state the lowerable subsection of the base section can be lowered by way of means such that the standard cutlery can be placed in the remaining section and in the subsection of the base section, and in addition in the lowered subsection there is enough space available for placing cutlery items having larger dimensions, without the likelihood of their colliding with the walls of the washing container.